''Ignatius His Conclave'' is a 1611 work by 16/17th century
metaphysical
Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the fundamental nature of reality, the first principles of being, identity and change, space and time, causality, necessity, and possibility. It includes questions about the nature of conscio ...
poet
A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wri ...
John Donne. The title is an example of "
his genitive
The his genitive is a means of forming a genitive construction by linking two nouns with a possessive pronoun such as "his" (e.g. "my friend his car" instead of "my friend's car"). This construction enjoyed only a brief heyday in English in the l ...
" and means the conclave of Ignatius. The work
satirizes the
Jesuits
, image = Ihs-logo.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders = ...
. In the story,
St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits, is found to be in
Hell:
But Ignatius Layola which was got neere his chaire, a subtile fellow, and so indued with the Divell, that he was able to tempt, and not onely that, but (as they say) even to possesse the Divell, apprehended this perplexity in Lucifer.
Ignatius is subsequently ejected from Hell and ordered to colonize the
moon
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...
where he will do less harm.
The text mocks Jesuit evangelism and makes references to many scientists of the day, including
Copernicus
Nicolaus Copernicus (; pl, Mikołaj Kopernik; gml, Niklas Koppernigk, german: Nikolaus Kopernikus; 19 February 1473 – 24 May 1543) was a Renaissance polymath, active as a mathematician, astronomer, and Catholic canon, who formulated ...
,
Kepler
Johannes Kepler (; ; 27 December 1571 – 15 November 1630) was a German astronomer, mathematician, astrologer, natural philosopher and writer on music. He is a key figure in the 17th-century Scientific Revolution, best known for his laws o ...
,
Brahe
Brahe (originally ''Bragde'') is the name of two closely related Scanian noble families who were influential in both Danish and Swedish history.
Danish family
The first member of the family using the name Brahe is speculated to have been Verner B ...
, and
Galileo.
Notes
External links
''Ignatius His Conclave'' (1611) (excerpt)
Full title of the work{{John Donne
1611 books
Prose works by John Donne